Wake Up From Your Little Fairytale
by Troypayisbetter
Summary: This is the real story. Because life isn't divided into black and white, and nobody is all good and all bad. Plus, High School isn't a Disney movie.
1. Chapter 1

**So guys…I'm back! I missed you guys a lot! So this is a new story that kind of slapped Josh in the face today on the way home in the car—his gasp of inspiration nearly made me crash my car. I hope you guys like it. And…I hope you remember us. If not…check out Titanic. Maybe it'll jog a memory? Enjoy :)**

Wake Up From Your Little Fairytale

You know the story. The good natured jock makes a connection with the beautifully simple nerd. They battle together, almost as if they were fighting a holy war, against the stereotypes that plague every high school. And after battling the cliques and those that want to keep them firmly in place they break out in spontaneous song and dance, and they bring together the hearts and minds of a whole student body.

I know you know this story. Except, you don't. Not really. You just saw the pretty and sparkling world that Disney wanted you to see. You saw the sincere smiles; saw the amicable relationships and the pure love that bridged together a group of weakly connected teens. But that's not true at all—well…almost untrue. Becuase you didn't see the real story. Not the one that was hidden behind the false curtain of hope and 'happily-ever-after'. It's okay to realize now, that you've been tricked for all this time. It's EVEN ok that you were. How could you fight something so endorsed and so innocent? Why would you want to?

I've been watching. Watching carefully. And I'm here to tell you what actually happened. What's STILL happening. Because life isn't done with High School. Life doesn't get easier with the sweet release of the coming summer. This is the true story. The story that, unlike the one you know; steeped in the light of goodness—this one is clouded with the shadows of human life. Where the characters—although they aren't actually characters—aren't defined in black and white. And where secrets can be your best friend and worst nightmare all in one.

Wake up. Wake up and come closer. Listen to my story. Take it all in. And learn something from it. Because…I guess every story has a morality lesson or some other shit. But this is important. It's time you realized that everyone you thought you had learned about is really the backwards version of them. And that they're now trapped in the shadows of their own falsified fame.

Are you ready?

Get comfortable.

It's a long story.

Your friend,

Anonymous

**So…that's the prologue. I hope you guys like it. :) Basically its up to you if you want us to continue it. Just hit that wonderful little button on the bottom of the screen and tell us what you thought? And if you guys have read or seen I am Number 4…maybe go and check out our other two stories? Thanks guys. We really appreciate every review. Till next time…hopefully. **

**Josh and Julie. **


	2. New Year and Old Tricks

Wake Up From Your Little Fairytale

You know the first day of school. Everyone's stomach is a mess of mixed emotions; the excitement of a new year—a new adventure and the disappointment that the freedom of summer has ended. Friends hug and smile, complementing each other and telling trivial stories that only skirt the very edge of their activities. A few try to settle into their lockers and dump their newly bought binders and folders. And some, like myself, stand in the hallway waiting.

Nobody really knows how to make entrances on the first day of school….usually. Myself, I'm about as invisible as an imaginary friend when I walk in. I'm not given the time of day, unless someone accidently bumps into me and then it's a rushed, mumbled apology. A few of my friends, just as quiet as I am, walk in together so that at least they feel more like they belong. They invite me to join them, but I know my place and it's not with them. It can't be. They're well-bred losers. I know, unlike them, that I'm going to be famous one day. And my place is with those friends that will be equally successful…if not more.

I can see them coming now. The crowd forming outside the entrance is parting like the red sea. They're all wearing their own looks. And they're all in their respective places. You know in the movies, the lights fade, and outside the light shines brightly as if heaven is opening up? And then as the doors are pushed open, fog rolls across the freshly polished floor and the most beautiful people you could ever imagine walk through the door? Yeah. It's like that. ALWAYS like that. And I hate it.

First there's Sharpay, her hips swaying slightly as she makes her way up the stairs and then across the patio to the doors. Her hair's in a ponytail, which swings down past her shoulders, slightly curly. Her hair shines like it's been polished, and her teeth gleam in a pleasant way. She's got the right curves and the right voice. And if you knew her like I did, you'd realize she was smarter than she seemed. She's wearing a pretty black skirt, which flows above her knees, a white t shirt, and a pink sweater, unbuttoned. The gold T shines from around her slender, slightly tanned neck. Sometimes I want to wrap my hands around it and throttle her for having everything I want.

Troy's right behind her, one hand clasped firmly in Sharpay's. The other is holding open the door for her. He's in dark, slightly loose jeans and a white polo, which only makes his eyes pop even more than usual—Sharpay probably helped him pick it out, it's so perfect. If you don't know Troy, you don't know his eyes. They're like little pools of clear water. And they just call for you to swim in them. His arms are pleasantly strong, and you can just see the outline of two PECS. He's the star of the basketball team. And he's been Sharpay's boyfriend since the middle of sophomore year. His voice is clear and strong when he laughs at something that Chad must have said behind them, his teeth gleaming like Sharpay's. The black backpack is slung on only one shoulder and he looks like your all American guy.

Behind them, with hands clasped is Chad and Taylor. Chad is Troy's second. His curly afro bounces with his steps, and his chocolate skin fits well with the blue Express polo he has on. He's wearing khaki's and basketball shoes. And he's smiling. He's not the smartest in the group, but he's not the dumbest either. He's more the clown of the group, trying to make everyone laugh. I feel sorry for him, more than I do for anyone else in the group. He's been stuck in a perpetual shadow of Troy for his whole life. And chances are, if they end up going to the same college that Chad will STILL be stuck behind him. Perhaps that's why he tries so hard to make everyone laugh. It's the one thing he can do that Troy can't.

Next to him is Taylor, Chad's girlfriend of three years. Her hair is down and straight, her darker skin is pleasant against Chad's lighter. She's wearing skinny jeans and a purple blouse. A sparkling, titanium watch glistens in the fluorescents and her sneakers are so bright they hurt. She's my best friend out of all of them. The one that notices me the most. The one that invites me when the others forgot. I think if I had the choice to only save one, I'd save her.

Behind them, bringing up the rear is the next happy couple. First is Ryan, holding open the door for Gabriella. He's got on a red polo, and faded blue jeans, about as skinny as they come. Remember when I said Chad wasn't the stupidest one? That's because Ryan takes the trophy. Honestly, the boy can't spell for crap, and I think it's daddies money that keeps him with his straight A's. That or his girlfriend's brains. Ryan's a dancer, and the head of the baseball team. And he does theatre with Sharpay, who happens to be his twin sister. His eyes are a nice green, like freshly cut summer grass, unlike his sister's dirty brown eyes. Because he does theatre, you might assume he was gay, or at least a little twisted. Which is the worst thing you could think of him. The last kid who thought that…and actually SAID it…well he's six feet under. Ryan's the bully, and if it wasn't for Gabriella, his temper would be out of hand. She's the calming source which keeps him in line. It can't be easy for her.

Gabriella. She's the smartest one in the school. And, supposedly, the sweetest one. She has no sarcastic remarks like Taylor and Sharpay. She doesn't judge like Chad and Ryan, and she doesn't swear like Troy. Instead, she's two-faced. She's the one that finds out what everyone else says about them, and…._corrects _it by breaking apart the life of the one who's doing it piece by piece. Her latest target was Jamie Lynch. She's not in school anymore. I hear she transferred. Gabriella's Latina, with fiery eyes and a flair for the unknown. She takes risks, but they're calculated. She's wearing a green sundress, and gladiator sandals, and in her own right, she holds her own against Sharpay's beauty. She has about as many trophies as Sharpay does. In fact…the school has its own damn trophy case just for her. It's kind of disgusting how perfect she seems to be. I bet she doesn't even have to try.

The door closes behind them but those in the hallway are still gaping at them. Those that are lucky enough to be friends with them come over and shake hands and give hugs. There's laughter and smiles and you can tell they all enjoy the attention they get. Who could blame them though? It's not as if they don't deserve it. They have the grades, the friends, the looks. The top colleges. The other kids in the hall that don't have the pleasure of knowing them stand against the lockers or move off to their friends, their eyes still locked onto them, whispering. It's been like this since the sixth grade, when they became, overnight, amazing. It's unfair, but ok. Nobody seems to mind…at least not out loud.

I move toward them, a smile plastered onto my face while I fight down the revulsion of having to hug both Sharpay and Gabriella. I have personal vendettas against them, but they either know and don't care or don't notice and could care less about me. I think it's the second. When they see me, Taylor pulls me into a half hug, and for a moment I feel like I belong. Technically, if we're going by skill then I do. But in looks…I'm all too plain. Gabriella comes next, Ryan behind her and to the right, his chest pressed into Gabriella's shoulder. He's possessive and protective…a cursing and blessing. I hug her, and she greets me, her voice playing in my ear. She asks me how the rest of my summer was, although it's not like she doesn't know. A music camp isn't hard to find out about, and learning the activities of one person inside its walls is as easy as putting in a spy.

When she pulls away, I shake hands with Chad and Ryan, then turn to Sharpay. She's smiling with a shining smile. But behind that smile are eyes that still, after all these years, threaten me. Tell me that she's still the boss and always will be. It's slightly unnerving and my skin crawls when she kisses both my cheeks as I mirror her movements. When she pulls back she smiles and pats my shoulders before moving closer to Troy, who shakes my hand in greeting. With formalities over with we can all walk down the hallway in a kind of half-strut…one that lets everyone know-especially new students and freshman…that we're the law.

Everyone in the hallway moves to the side. Everyone in our group looks down at them in contempt. It's my favorite part of the morning. To look and those around me and for a split second pretend that I am more important than they are. It never lasts, but that's to be expected for a drug. And the attention is my high. One that's too hard to quit. It's why I can stand the others. Because even though they are horrible, they still make me feel important. I hate them for it, but I can't break away from them.

Everyone in the school has their own place. The spot where they get together with their friends and chat. Where they hang out and laugh and do homework and gossip. For us, it's the lockers near the cafeteria, because it's the center of the school. Need I say more?

Sharpay leans against the lockers, her head on Troy's shoulders. Taylor whips her schedule out and starts comparing with Ryan, Gabriella, and Chad. And me? I sit on the floor in front of them and soak in their popularity. I don't mind being the fly on the wall. I learn all the best things that way. All the secrets that people in the school wish weren't known….and also those secrets that the others don't want known. Like that Gabriella had a fling with a lifeguard while she was in Spain this summer—I found that out through Taylor…phone tapping isn't legal but you can't get in trouble if you aren't caught. Or that Troy tried weed at Marcus Ottspringer's 18th birthday two weeks ago. I was behind him and Chad for that discussion. Obviously they need to open their eyes. I'm a leech. But it's fun. One day I can hold all the shit up above their heads and get what I want. Anything I want. And I have my ideas.

I snap back when Sharpay snaps her fingers at me.

"Kelsi….Troy was asking you something. Honestly hon, pay attention."

She calls everyone hun…but it's the first time she said it to me. "Huh? Sorry Troy…what?"

"What the hell's up? You're acting like a loser today. Again."

He's so brutally blunt but so beautiful I can't hate him. "Oh…sorry. I'm just really tired. I didn't sleep much last night." I wave it off.

"God…maybe you should drink coffee more. You know, the stuff the gods made for us." Ryan. He has this look on his face as if coffee was the answer to all my problems. What. An. Idiot. How does Gabriella stay with him?

"I'll look into it." I nod.

"We're just worried about you. Don't take it as an attack." Taylor's so sweet that way.

Gabriella looks like she's about to say something, but then Jessica Reinsmith walks by, and she's in a huff about something else. "I heard that bitch told Juliette who told Rachel who told Meagan who told Sally who told me that she was talking about Chad last week. She's bragging that she'll be fucking him before homecoming."

Taylor's in a huff now. "That little whore. I can't even BELIEVE she said that. I helped her with her dog this summer…when I could have been going to the Katy Perry concert." She was shaking. The concert must have been a big deal. There was a story about this. I would find that out later.

Sharpay holds both her arms out and smiles, shaking her head with closed eyes as if she's some reverent nun about to quote scripture. "Don't worry hun. By the end of next week I think there might be a rumor that she's been sleeping with Senor Montaya. She won't be bothering anyone." Troy pats her shoulder, and squeezes her arm in assurance. It's really quite despicable and horrible and I blink to get the full meaning. Mr. Montaya will be fired. Jessica will be expelled. Her senior year. All because Mr. Montaya had the audacity to call Sharpay out for caring more about her looks and her relations with Troy more than she did about class. In front of everyone. And because Jessica beat her in the pageant in the third grade. She doesn't know how to let go apparently.

Ryan nods. "Oh good. I love it when there's drama in school. Life's too boring without it."

Chad smirks and leans against the wall. "She wants to fuck me." He smiles, then grunts when Taylor slaps his chest. "HEY!"

"There will be no fucking." She grits out.

"Unless it's with you." He wiggles his eyebrows and Sharpay and I start to laugh, Troy chuckling slightly. It's forced. He hates that Chad has something on him that he isn't better at.

"We'll see when you're sleeping on the couch for real and not in bed on Friday, won't we?" She smiles sweetly and I laugh again, Gabriella's giggle high pitched. Ryan' rubbing her shoulders, his eyes swiveling to all the other guys in the hallway. It's a known fact he's insecure because even he knows that Gabriella cheats on him.

She's about to say something when the bell rings its final tone. In an instant they're all saying goodbye to each other…everyone but me. I'm forgotten again. Only Taylor waves at me as she's pulled down the hallway by Gabriella. Sharpay and Troy walk down another hall and Ryan walks at a slower pace. He pushes a kid against a locker and knocks the books out of his hand. It's going to be a long year. I can already tell.

**So I hope you guys liked it. And I hope I'm making it quite different than the movies. I don't hate Gabriella. I don't know if I made it seem like it. Anyway. Regular updates now. I'm so psyched for this story. It's going to be a fun time. Please review guys? It takes time to write—time I'm running out on…and more reviews make updates come faster. Thanks again. It's really cool that you guys chose to read my story. Thanks. **

**Till next time.**

**Julie and Josh. **


	3. The First Day

**Writing for a while. We really doubted for a while, until a friend kinda talked us back. Thanks BangxDitto. So this is it! We hope we did well on it, and that it ups the ante. Any reviews you guys have for us are amazing, really. And we both can't wait to see what you guys though. So…review?**

**We don't own High School Musical or it's characters. We do own Alice though ;)**

Homeroom; the class we only have only once in a while. It's a messy tango of flustering, red faced teachers and bratty kids rolling their eyes and snickering behind their backs. Really, the best way to describe these forty five minutes is a limbo, where friends—that is, if you actually _have_ friends to begin with, or are lucky enough to share homeroom with them, which I am not—get to gossip with each other, tell some jokes, and generally show off for the rest of your peers while teachers finish perfecting their plans for the week.

Homeroom is pretty much a pointless period. In reality, nobody cares what announcements the teachers try to yell out above the roar of us uncivilized human beings. Nobody wants to hear about the Welcome Pac for incoming freshman. Nobody cares about new rules about gum or texting or cheating. And nobody wants to hear about class elections, because we already know who will win. 90% of what's handed to us goes right into the garbage on the way out…so much for the forests right? The other 10% gets shoved into our bags and forgotten for a week.

I've generally hated homeroom, ever since the seventh grade when Robert O'Neil told me that my friends didn't really want to talk to me and that I should just go away. I've hated them ever since…him even more than they. I guess I keep grudges. They sit over by the windowsill now, and most of them are popular sluts devoted to Sharpay and her kind. Now I sit in homeroom, all alone. It's the first mistake everyone made. Who would have thought, honestly, that somehow we would ALL magically have the same homeroom? A few of us do: Sharpay and Ryan….Zeke Baylor and Troy, Gabriella and Taylor. If that impossible system actually works in your school, tell me because I'm pretty sure it can't happen.

When the bell finally does ring, and we all rush out of class while the teacher tries to wish the few kids in earshot to 'have a good day' we go out onto a battle ground. The hallways are so congested there isn't an inch of breathing space between the packed bodies. And if you aren't noticeable or popular like Gabriella and Sharpay you better watch out. By the time I get to first period, Economics with Mr. Fairfield, my hair is less than perfect and my new clothes are wrinkled.

Taylor is in my class too. So is Troy. They both come in a few minutes after I do, when the teacher is just about to start class looking like they just came off a runway. Not a hair on their head is out of place. It's a little infuriating. Mr. Fairfield doesn't even bat an eye, just waves them to two seats open in the front. They pay no attention to me for the first half of class, untill after our teacher has lost his breath and will to speak and we are well past caring. Then they turn.

Taylor smiles minutely, as if afraid to actually show her greeting. Troy…he stares at me with a slight look of distaste, but I can't blame him. He's surrounded by perfection. Hell, he's in LOVE with perfection. And my plain disheveled looks are no sight for sore eyes, but I can't blame him. I never could. They wave me up and over to them. I nod then take my stuff and move. Like I always do. Mom says I'm a pushover. But really it's easier to follow than lead, especially when it's Troy who's commanding me.

We shoot the breeze for a few minutes, well really Taylor and Troy do. I sit there silently, nodding and pretending to know what's happening. They all know information that I don't. Mostly because they're so connected into what everyone's doing. It's one of my goals. Something burns horribly inside me to know what they know and be like them. It's stupid but…I can't help it.

When the bell finally rings, we all pick up our stuff slowly, and I shuffle out ahead of them while they continue talking. We separate in the hallway then with quick waves. It's a little confirmation that even though we're friends we aren't the same. They are on a whole different layer on the social system.

Next is English, and I have it with Ryan. Which means that not only will I be doing all the projects this year, but also I'll be helping him get his straight A's like Michelle Beck did last year. And the class will go far too slowly for my liking. But that's what you get when you have a kid in your class with an IQ of 34. He pays almost no attention to me. He just gets into a deep conversation with some other baseball players over to the side near the door, and they disappear quickly when the bell rings.

Third period is one of my electives; Sociology. I have it with an old friend of mine, Amy. I don't hang out with her very much, because I'm either working hard on getting a scholarship to college or am off doing something with the rest of the gang. She doesn't mind though. She tells me herself. She says, if she were in my shoes, that she'd probably be doing the same thing. Although, she probably wouldn't. She's such a little goodie-too-shoes. She goes to church a lot, if you know what I mean.

It's only till Fourth and Fifth that I realize just how bad Senior year will be. Calculus AP is a double period; an hour and a half of trying to stay awake while Ms. Murphy drones on and on about complex equations and all that fun shit. And guess who sits right next to me: Sharpay Evans. She's bubbly when she sees me, and gives me a quick hug, which is almost sincere—if it wasn't for the fact that nothing she does is sincere.

"Hey Kels, what's up?" She's taking out a notebook and a pen, flashing a smile at the teacher, who's smiling back before turning to get some papers from her desk. Ms. Murphy does set design for the plays, so she's most likely eating out of the palm of her hands.

"Hey…Sharpay." I smile back at her, running my fingers through my hair and pretending it was as soft and that it flowed like Sharpay's does. I mimic her in taking out my notebook, and I busy myself with taking notes for a while. "I just have a lot of homework."

"Oh god I know. I can't believe it either. I mean, we're SENIORS for Christ's sake. We should be getting a free ride practically." She shakes her head and smiles. "Oh well though. It'll be easy though. I mean, it's not as if we're taking any hard classes."

"This IS AP Calculus."

"Oh please, like it's hard?" She gives me a look, as if to tell me to wake up. Right. AP means that this class is basically being taught like a real college class. Which means the teacher doesn't care if we're here or not as long as we pass the tests. I'm going to need a really good tutor.

I laugh along with her though. "Right…"

We end our discussion there. It's not that she doesn't want to talk to me…well, she didn't say it out loud though. But the teacher was starting already on the first chapter. While I'm scribbling down notes, Sharpay is fluidly writing them out, taking her time. And while I struggle with it, she does it with no problem, even getting the twenty question homework assignment done in class even though there is less than ten minutes. I can't understand it.

"So…Donny Applemen is having a party on Saturday. It should be nothing short of amazing. Are you going?"

I look up from my homework, surprised. " Uh…I don't know. I wasn't invited." My stomach is churning with butterflies. What if she's inviting me…this could be the first time she's actually taking notice to me.

"I'm sure it's in transit. Keep your head up." She pats my shoulder, and my mouth falls open. See what I mean? She doesn't really care about me at all. I'm not surprised, and I chastise myself for getting my hopes up.

The bell rings before I have a response, and we both exit the classroom together, less than an inch between us. This isn't abnormal though. We're going to lunch. You see, in our school, they pull each class together for lunch. So, the freshmen eat all at once at fourth. The sophomores all eat together at fifth. Juniors, because of the ACT's, have to eat seventh. So we Seniors all get to eat Sixth. It's supposed to cut down on any inter-class bullying. Ryan still gets around that. He likes to draw blood before he eats, I guess it helps digestion.

He's walking out of the bathroom now, wiping his hands. I bet he just gave some poor kid a swirly. He walks over and goes to give Sharpay a hug but she pushes on his stomach. "Did you wash your hands?"

"Yeah of course." He smiles. "What kind of animal am I?" God I swear this kids going to be a serial killer. Sharpay takes no notice and rubs his head, smiling.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't hurt the kids to much this year. I'd hate to see the school board have to be informed. Daddy took care of the principal last year, but I swear he won't be able to do it again this year." _You see, Mr. Evans quieted up the principal last year when he threatened to expel Ryan by paying for a whole new wing of the school, which was being added as we walked. It was going to be an Olympic sized pool, a new work out room, and a revamping of the computer software's. It was a big deal. _

Gabriella joined us next, her lunch bag swinging in her hand as she strutted. She came up beside Ryan, who wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into a kiss, even as they walked. Chad and Taylor were already moving into the cafeteria ahead of us.

We walk in through the side door and then across the ground floor up to the second floor loft, and take a table against the glass railing, where we can monitor the happenings of the crowd for lunch. The tiled floors, red and white, gleam. And outside a warm breeze is blowing a wad of napkins across the cement patio.

The cliques can really be seen well from up here, and with my bagged lunch, I assess them now. The geeks are below along the wall at a long table, their books open and pens ready. They seem to be catching up on what scientific accomplishments they've all had this summer, and figuring out who will probably be Valedictorian. With any guess, it'll be Sharpay even though she's in the bottom of the top ten percent. The musicians are at another table, their cases on the floor around them. A few have music sheets out, and are chatting about some shit only they understand, although I'm not very proud to say, I can understand it too.

The stoners all have Marley hats on, and are all wearing stupid grins on their faces. Stoned already on the first day of school. Aren't they off to a good start. Troy is talking to one in the corner of the room. The stoner passes him a bag of something. I smirk. He's hardly stealthy about it. Although so far Sharpay hasn't found out, although I'm sure she will by the end of tomorrow. Like I said, she has Gabriella at her side. And between them, they know all.

Sharpay goes off to the lunch line with Ryan and I follow behind them. Today they are serving the same disgusting food they were last year; pizza, undercooked spaghetti, and greasy hamburgers. Sharpay grabs a hamburger, an extra-large M&M cookie, and a bottle of ice tea before joining the queue paying. I take my time, surveying everything before picking a bagel and cream cheese. Ryan…he picks up two hamburgers, a chocolate milk, and a chocolate chip cookie. I don't know how he can eat it.

When I get back up to the table, they are already sitting around it, in the same place. Sharpay and Troy sit on the left hand side, with Chad on Troy's left and Gabriella at the head. Next to her, is Ryan, then Chad, then myself, and then Taylor, who sits next to Chad. When I get there, I'm in the middle of the conversation, so I don't know how this started.

"But doesn't Margaret Cho look absolutely hideous today in that purple blouse? I mean, it looks like it came out of the seventies." She chuckles, then takes a bite of her grilled cheese.

"That's because she probably got it out of her mother's closet!" She's laughing now, very hard. I picture her falling out of her seat and hitting her head on the floor. She's just settling down and taking a bite of her hamburger when _she_ walks by.

Alice McGovern. She's this really curvy, really busty girl with the most voluminous, red hair I've ever seen in my life, and deep sultry, pouty brown eyes. She's really beautiful. And she was Troy's girlfriend before Sharpay. They hate each other because Alice maintains that Sharpay stole him from her. Sharpay hates her because, besides Alice being a poser, Troy's a cheater. And apparently, one time he cheated on her with Alice. It's epic when they fight.

Alice stops short against the railing. She's got on a white skirt and a grey blouse with a blue ribbon around the waist. She looks quite nice. Sharpay stops mid smile to Gabriella, and the two lock eyes.

"McGovern."

"Evans."

"Get that outfit out of the Gap?"

"Find a membership to the gym?"

She glowers. If I were a dog, my ears would be behind my head and my tail would be between my legs. As it is, most of us at the table involuntarily shiver and grow nervous. I have this nervous habit where I turn my fork around and around.

"Okay Alice. If someone needs a gym membership, then it would be you."

"Me? I'm perfect. Have you seen my body?"

"Three fourths of the student body and half the teachers in this school have seen your body."

She frowns, then turns and sees Troy. "Hi Troy." She smiles, and twirls her hair, then walks over and leans on his shoulder. He winks at her.

"Alright, take your skanky ass off my _boyfriend_ and walk away." She's like a mountain lion protecting her dinner. It's slightly disgusting.

She moves away, and frowns. "Oh as if Sharpay. Don't be such a paranoid bitch. I don't want Troy. Never did." Lie. We all know it is.

"Uh huh. I see you got a boob job. Did daddy's money pay for that, or did you use the money you got off the street?"

"I don't know, but I wonder where you got your nose done, maybe I'll check out the doctor." She smiles.

Sharpay gives her the finger. Around the table, the mood has drastically changed. Ryan is shaking. The rest look frightened. Gabriella has a mad, gleeful expression on her face, one that makes her look demonic. It looks like the expression bloodthirsty men have when they think about the prospect of war and mass murder. "You don't want to start something you can't finish." She's standing now, face to face with Alice, two feet from the table.

"Am I?" She raises her eyebrow.

She nods. "I'd watch your back if I were you."

"Is that a threat?"

"Definitely." She grounds out, glaring. I'm noticing that the whole cafeteria below is starting to catch on to the fact that something is happening, and a low hush is falling over the cafeteria like a wave falling.

"Or you'll do what? Fuck Troy and blacklist me?"

"I can do things you could never imagine."

"Oh I'm sure." She looked over at Troy. "This isn't over."

She smiled, and turned to leave. She hadn't taken a step when Sharpay tripped her, and Alice went down hard onto the cold floor. Her friends went to help her up, and collectively we all glared at each other, sizing each other up while below the cafeteria went silent. I feel like we're having a Grease moment, the T-birds sizing up the Scorpions.

"Bye- bye." She mocks, then turns back to Troy. "Why does she have to be so horrible to me?"

He frowns. "Oh common. She didn't mean anything by it."

They're still fighting when the bell rings.

Through the rest of the day, the news of the faceoff between Alice and Sharpay. I wanted to call out and and tell them all about it, but nobody noticed me before, and I feel a sort of satisfaction on holding the truth above their hands. Besides, they wouldn't ask me anyway. It's not as if they cared. How pathetic right?

When the end of the day finally arrives, I trudge out of the building and toward my old pick up. Really, it was my fathers…before he left. Now it's my own. And although it's a piece of crap, it's the only connection I have to my father. From the driver's seat, I see the gang walk down the stairs. Sharpay, Taylor, and Gabriella's hair blow in the wind perfectly like a damn shampoo commercial. Troy loops an arm around her waist. I watch them like a stalker untill they are lost among the trees in the front of the school—their spot. No one's allowed to join them unless they are invited. And so far, nobody has. Including me. That doesn't mean people can't come over and say hello…shoot the breeze. They can, and a lot of the popular kids do. Even the semi-popular.

It angers me that, even though I've been spending my weekends with them since the seventh grade, I'm still not invited to the spot. It's really bullshit. I hate it. I hit the gas and zoom off. I'm dreading going home, like I always do. But I can't help it. All I can think is that I only have a little while more before I get to leave and never come back. That thought is both gratifying and horrifying. Because I know, that once this year ends, the gang will probably forget me. And then what?

It's then that my plan begins to play in my head.

**So…tada? This was fun to write. I hope I got Sharpay and Alice's confrontation pretty well down. And I hope I did a pretty decent job and didn't let anyone down. Please review, and tell me how I did. And if you guys have any suggestions or hints, we'd love to hear em. Till next time. **

**Julie and Josh. **


	4. Revelations in Sinister Undertones

**So, hey guys! Sorry for the mini Hiatus. It really wasn't planned, and we both kind of jumped when we realized it had been a while since we had updated this story. We just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far. 3 chapters and 19 reviews…we still can't believe that this story has been so well received. I hope you guys continue to enjoy it. **

**Disclaimer: We do not own High School Musical, or its characters. All parties, however realistic were not drawn from out of our heads—to our knowledge— and no similarities to your parties are anything but coincidences. No teenagers were harmed in the making of this chapter, although some reputations were tarnished and one heel off a very pretty shoe was damaged by splashing**_...__**punch**__. _**Enjoy!**

The rest of the week went by slowly for everyone. Because every student was still getting used to the fact that they had to now wake at six instead of twelve, a prospect hard to grasp by some of the less…worthy in the school, classes were relatively tame, at least by the more sympathetic teachers, so that students could re-assimilate themselves to the tedious schedule they were now stuck with till May. However, some of the harder teachers were giving homework every night, and her sleepless hours after work completing her homework had started to show as dark crescents on her smooth skin underneath her dark eyes. Several times, Gabriella had commented on how ugly they made her look, although surprisingly Sharpay hadn't said much about them, only commenting that she would get her some better concealer to help hide them.

In fact, Sharpay had become nothing but quiet since her fight with Troy. Their tension had manifested to the whole group, and there were signs of cracks in the relationships of everybody. Ryan and Gabriella were finding it increasingly difficult to gauge when their voices were needed to break the ugly silence. If they were wrong, then they were met with dark glares from Sharpay and Troy and shifting gazes from the rest of them. If they were right…it usually paid off by lightening the general mood. And, since Troy and Sharpay had moved to opposite ends of the table, their whole group had to be reconfigured. Now, Taylor and Chad no longer sat together, and Ryan and Gabriella had been crunched together with herself on the end.

Sharpay no longer commented on the ugly dress choices of the freshman population below her. She no longer cackled at the lunch table, with Gabriella and Taylor about the social hierarchy around them. And, she was quickly becoming the silent, slumbering giant everyone was afraid to awake.

Troy on the other hand, seemed to be getting along just fine without her. He flirted with girls in the hallway—she noticed how Sharpay seemed to deflate a little more with each girl she saw him with—and his Cheshire cat smile seemed broader. There was a weight lifted off of his shoulders and a new bounce in his step and he took every opportunity to show Sharpay exactly how well he was doing. However, according to Chad, Troy was actually doing much worse without Sharpay.

During practice, he was now frequently missing his shots. And, in the locker room he no longer joked with his friends while dressing before and after games and practices. His grades were starting to slip—which surprised even her, not because he was particularly smart to begin with but simply because it was the first week of school dammit—and he was realizing more and more that he needed her.

From this fight, only a few good things came; the first was that Troy stopped smoking pot. Because of this, a few others in the school that had been smoking more to try to fit into Troy's back alley social club ceased their activities as well. A few even signed up in the guidance office for support meetings to help them with their addiction. Now that he had quit, he smelled a whole lot better, and, if she could say so herself, he looked damn well better. His skin was beginning to shine brighter. His teeth were whiter, and he seemed more positive. The next good thing was that she was beginning to have a voice. Just the other day, Chad had asked her a question about sports, and although her answer on which defensive linebacker was better for the fantasy football team was totally wrong apparently,—how was she supposed to know that Gary Brackett was not the right pick to ensure victory when placed in the same category as Reggie White?—it surprisingly didn't end there like it would have usually. In fact, the debate and subsequent detailed explanations of what a defensive linebacker really was—Ryan was surprisingly good when it came to this, drawing on detailed examples involving, she noted, poor geeks in the sophomore class sitting within earshot—helped her immensely because it finally gave her a voice at the table. The final good thing about the breakup was broken up into two parts. The first part was just that now that they were no longer dating, Sharpay didn't t talk about trivial matters that made her want to pull her hair out and kill herself with her pencil. Instead, they had long and detailed discussions over text during math about issues, however trivial, that brought her closer to Sharpay. One such discussion just the other day had been on hangnails, and how she prevented them, and how she herself should start preventing them. The second part was that now during projects Sharpay actually asked if she would like to be her partner.

"So…I mean…although this project's really super easy, and we have the option of working by ourselves, I was wondering if maybe you'd like to do it together?" Her face was slightly scrunched as she impatiently awaited an answer. And for once, she genuinely smiled at Sharpay.

"Sure. I'd like that. We can work on it after school at my house."

Sharpay smiled back, just as happy to not be rejected like she had been with Troy only a few days ago. "Great!" Realizing she was much too excited by the prospect of working on a math project she tilted her head and nodded. "I…mean…that's awesome. Sounds like fun. When should I…?"

"Come over? Right after school's ok."

She nodded. "I might be a little late. We hang out by the tree in front of school." She twirled her pen and wrote out some more notes in that handwriting that would make John Hancock jealous. "I wonder why I never see you there…well, most of us wonder."

That piqued her interests and she froze, looking over at Sharpay sitting next to her. "You guys notice when I'm not there?"

She shook her head. "Yeah, we're missing one twerp." She grinned. "Seriously, why aren't you there?"

She frowned. _Wasn't it obvious?_ "Well…because…nobody has invited me."

She frowned. "No one has...that's because nobody needs to. You sit with us at lunch. We talk to you. That IS your invite to these things. The fact that you hang with us in every other place implies you get a free pass to The Site."

She felt her cheeks heat up, and she started getting confused. She could have joined them any time she wanted? She had been invited, unbeknownst to her, because she had been a 'part of the group'? She felt so stupid, she wanted to smack herself. In fact, she felt so stupid she wanted to kill herself. She had been making a horrible plan based on her assumption that nobody cared about her, but in reality she had just been to blind to see the obvious right in front of her. These people did care about her, at least Sharpay did. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all.

When the day ended, she packed her bag slowly, mulling over what was about to occur. This would be a triumphant day. She was finally going to act on her dream and sit in the coveted area only those privileged enough to be _asked_ could come. Her heaven had been attained, and all by the revelation brought forth to her by her savior. Bouncing down the stairs, she slowed when she neared the glass doors, smoothing out her pink blouse before stepping outside into the heat.

Albuquerque was in another heat wave, and with temperatures soaring, everything was wilting. In fact, by the time she had made it down the few steps to the sidewalk—only 5 quick bounces—her hair laid dead and her clothes had stuck to her body.

She saw the gang appear like from a curtain directly in front of her, and she quickened her pace until she was in front of them, smiling in anticipation. "Hey guys."

Their reactions were mixed. Taylor and Sharpay both beamed at her. Ryan didn't even bat an eye, and Chad only nodded his head before resuming his talk on offensive linemen-not another sports position she knew nothing about again, please…. Gabriella rolled her eyes in her direction, before waving at her, but at least it was in the ballpark of friendly. Troy's greating, was all too nasty though. "Who the hell said you could come over?" He glared down at her.

She lost the moisture in her mouth, and her tongue ran dry, sticking to the roof of her mouth. She parted her lips to speak when Sharpay's voice ran cleanly out into the air. "I did."

Troy frowned and turned. "Why? She does nothing for us. And already I feel the coolness being sucked right off of me."

She rolled her eyes. "You'd have to be cool to feel that effect."

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, cut the shit Sharpay. Everyone here knows that I'm the coolest one here. Right Chad?"

Chad mumbled something from his position, the corners of his mouth downcast and a shadow, cast over his face when he lowered his head, shielded the rest of them from seeing the sadness in his eyes.

Sharpay rolled her eyes, refusing to speak any longer and turned to Gabby as a soft wind blew through the trees, a few cherry blossoms swooping down around them as they returned to their normal behaviors.

Sharpay

Not going to lie, but the house was fucking small. Like seriously, it could fit in her attic space above her room and there would still be space over for her to fit half of her things in there.

The house was really an apartment. That was evidenced by the sign half submerged in shrubs and weeds out front facing the road. The buildings were arranged in a semi-circle, all sharing a common parking lot and, depressingly, they all looked the same; bland and imposing and the shadows in the parking lot were all consuming. The effect made the area look all too bland and unhappy, and she felt bad for the people who lived here every day, and experienced the same amount of sun when leaving and returning from work.

A few kids were playing soccer in a narrow grassy alley directly to the left of her car, and she wondered if her car would be alright all by itself. If someone broke in then there would be hell and blood in this parking lot. She would cut the little bastards to bits with a pair of worn out shoes lying haphazardly in the trunk. They could take that threat right to the bank. This week had not been her week, and she was about ready to explode.

Troy wasn't paying any attention to her anymore, and if he did it was to rub it into her face how well off he was doing without her as he flirted carelessly with all the tramps in the school. If not that, then he was throwing some poorly planned snide comment at her, which mostly hit their mark on cue. On top of that, her relationship with her brother and friends were becoming increasingly strained, she was starting to lose focus in her classes—something she hadn't done since the sixth grade, when grades apparently started counting for Ivy League schools.

And, if that wasn't enough, the drama department had made her head of the whole fucking department and now she was picking up the pace with the floundering Mrs. Darbus, because seriously she loved the woman but she was born before World War 2 and she was starting to lose energy by just walking from her car in the staff parking lot to Coach Bolton's office where she would bitch to him for the next half hour. Because of that, she was stuck helping making the decisions for what they play would be for the fall, and although it sounded fun when she was first told that she would be….assisting…it was quickly turning into more homework than it was a fun project. She was broken from her thoughts by Kelsi's call.

Kelsi was already by the door, punching in a secret code in the keypad by the doors. When she arrived, Kelsi only smiled and pulled open the door—it was heavier than it looked—and she nodded, slipping off her sunglasses as she entered.

The hallway was a bland white, the carpets thick blue and worn and the building was freezing. Kelsi led the way up twists and turns and flights of stairs until they found themselves on the top floor—floor four, naturally— because nothing could be fucking _easy_ this week at all, could it—before they were standing outside her dirty door to apartment number 453. The lock was stuck, and Kelsi jangled her keys several times before the door finally popped open with a small thump. She would have asked if she was alright had it not been for the fact that she was already straightening her hair and clothes, before flashing a smile.

"Please, make yourself at home.

_I seriously doubt I can…_ and she was right. The carpets, while clean, were slightly off white. The furniture definitely had a used look to it, and the TV sat on an old, false wooden base. The sight was a little discomforting for her. After spending her whole life in a house that was more museum than childhood home, Sharpay had been used to everything in its place and daily dustings by the maid. So the fact that she could look at a worn coffee table with last month's magazines, unpaid bills, and the remotes strewn across it was both a foreign and daunting thought.

Nonetheless, she sat down with a sigh, releasing breath she hadn't realized she was holding. The couch was surprisingly comfy, and as she sank back into it she felt as if it was trying to hug her. Although that was a foreign feeling for a couch—usually they were new, and even thinking of sitting on them was uncomfortable—it was a pleasant one. She yawned, and put her mussed hair into a pony tail before she turned to Kelsi, who was now behind the island of her kitchen, which was located both behind and to the right of the couch she was sitting on. She was pouring two Cokes into glass cups, while raking through the cabinets for anything good to eat.

She returned a few minutes later, with her arms full of delicious garbage she would work off in dance the next night. Besides, she would most likely be working it off just by running the errands Darbus wanted her to accomplish for her lazy ass anyway.

"Thanks." She smiled an encouraging smile, and reached for the cool liquid. The glass was already sweating in the sun, and it felt wonderful as the liquid slid down her throat. She was trying to show Kelsi that she could be friendly. After all, she knew from experience that she hadn't been the warmest person to Kelsi. But then again, she had been born an Evans, and as much as she hated her family for all it stood for, she was a part of it and so had acquired certain…dispositions.

"No problem." She sat down on the floor across from her, munching on a few pretzels before cocking her head. "Sharpay…what's the real reason you wanted to do the project with me?"

She froze. She hadn't been that obvious had she? She had thought that she was being pretty damn sly—almost as good as 007 she thought—in the way she was acting. Apparently not. She shrugged.

"Nothing…why would this need a reason?"

Kelsi paused, and she wondered what Kelsi was about to say that warranted such a response. "Well, it's just…no offense or anything but…well…you aren't exactly the _nicest _person in this world to me."

She nodded, sighing and flopping back on the couch. If she was going to get a disease in this place, then bring it. She had her vitamins and protein shakes every morning. And hey, as the doctor said, a Starbucks a day keeps the insanity away. How she was even supposed to respond to the question to begin with, she had no clue. If she answered it truthfully, then she not only sounded like a bitch—which she could be, granted—she would also sound like she was trying to play the pity game. And she NEVER played that game. It was a cheap move. One that only people like Troy played.

She had obviously been silent for too long, because Kelsi was starting to look uncomfortable. She shrugged. "I've been pretty lonely. And it hasn't helped that Troy had been a total jackass to me ever since Monday. I just…needed someone to talk to…?"

It sounded pathetic even to her ears.

"What about Taylor and Gabriella?" Kelsi looked genuinely confused now, and she couldn't help the feeling of arrogance that swept through her and left her all at once.

If only she knew…her life was no fucking picnic. Maybe she could tell her. It's not like anyone else would ever find out. Who the hell did she talk to anyway?

Kelsi

It's always super awkward when a blonde bombshell is lying on your couch in your living room refusing to answer a very compromising position. Then again, she had never asked a question like this before, and she had never been, in fact, in a situation quite like this before.

"Kelsi…you should know by now. Gabriella means well, but she's a bitch. And bitches can't be trusted. Ever. That's why you keep them closest. It's the only way you survive this hell called High School. And Taylor…god I love her but I swear sometimes she the most oblivious girl in the whole damn world." Sharpay paused, while her head kept reeling. "And, no offense, but you are kind of the odd one in our group. You neither belong, but at the same time you fit. And you're the prime example of a best friend. If our lives weren't revolving around eat or be eaten, I'd have you sitting on my left."

She nodded, confused. "I don't quite understand."

Sharpay sighed, but she only internally rolled her eyes.

"Gabriella is the type of person you keep close to you because if you don't she'll burn you. Taylor is someone a step up from you. She's the same amount of sweetness as you are, without all the naivety as you. But, she's still a player in this big chessboard game of High School, and her role is slightly more elevated than yours is. So I can't tell her stuff like this, because I could get burned. But you…you're practically invisible." She paused, then frowned. "Sorry."

"It's fine. Continue."

"Because of this, you're the perfect one to talk to. Because nobody has anything to lose by talking to you. You are the kind of person who could be truly put under the category of 'trustworthy'. You won't tell other people because your social game has been corrupted before you even got a chance to fully play the game. And anyway, because of your rank, nobody would listen to you anyway. So what I'm trying to say to you is, that while you are invisible and mostly unimportant, you're invisible enough and uncorrupted by this game that you are the person most favorable to talk to. And because of that, you are a truly vital asset to a friendship. Because I can let off steam with you."

She nodded, letting a small amount of hurt cross her face. "That's not very nice."

Sharpay smirked and nodded her head, her eyes tracing patterns on the cracked and stained ceiling. "I know."

"Why not talk to Ryan?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Because. Ryan is….well…he doesn't have all the pieces of chocolate on the chip. He's not the sharpest tool in the shed. You know? And plus. He's mindset is practically the same as my parents; we're better than all the commoners and we should be in charge of everything they do because of the fact our money could crush everyone in town. I don't agree with it. That's why I can't tell him stuff. Because even though we act like we have this perfect relationship, there's cracks. And my getting a job almost severed that connection."

"So, because you got a job your brother hates you?"

"No. My brother doesn't hate me. He just thinks, I'm not the most important person in the world because I want to act more like a regular person than we've been brought up to be. I don't just want to be this blonde, stupid heiress. I want to do something with my life that I love."

"And your brother?"

She shook her head, then glanced at the clock. "I have to go, shit. I'll be late for work."

She opened her mouth to ask, but Sharpay was already up with her books in her hands and at the door. When she reached it, Sharpay turned with her mouth shaped like a small o, before she opened her bag and reached inside, pulling out a golden envelop.

"It's that invitation to the party of Friday. You know where to go, right?"

She nodded.

"Great. I'll see you there?"

She nodded, and waved as Sharpay left.

Closing the door, she leaned against it and sighed, closing her eyes with the biggest grin in the universe plastered to her. Sharpay had just opened up and spoken wonders on how she truly felt on the whole group, as well as including some fascinating little tidbits on her family life, which was more screwed up than she thought it was. She should store this info down somewhere, just in case. You never know when you'll need to dredge something up.

**Tada! This chapter was really part filler, part necessary to show that not everything is perfect in Sharpay world. And to show the subtle hints of things to come. I left a couple subtle hints you have to really look into to get. It'll be fun to further develop this. I was planning to write in the party, but I realized that it was its own character almost. SO…that's next. What do you think is going to happen?**

**Sharpay: I know, Troy's going to make a royal ass of himself, and then come crawling back to me. **

**Troy: Huh. That's funny, that almost sounded like you thought I would EVER go back to…you.**

**Sharpay: Huh. You're right. Like I'd want you back. **

**Alice: You couldn't get him back even if you wanted to with THIS around.**

**Sharpay: You're right, the diseases would be so bad, I just wouldn't be able to risk it. **

**Kelsi: Need to shut them up…please guys shut them the fuck up!**

**Chad: There's food in the back fridge you guys, Josh and Julie just restocked it for us!**

**All run back and start to fight for the food. **

**Alright then. So that's my little side note for you guys. I'll try to put these little fun things in every once in a while. Just to amuse you, so keep looking out for em. On another note, thanks so much for all of your reviews. We can''t believe how many we have for this story, and we hope we don't disappoint you as the story goes on. Keep reviewing, please, it makes our day with everything we get. And hey, if you guys have anything you're dying to see just pm us and we'll try to see what we can do. **

**We love you guys. Thanks for everything so far! **


End file.
